Today, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis met with Norwegian Minister of Defense Søreide at the Pentagon to reaffirm the longstanding defense relationship between the United States and Norway.

Secretary Mattis and Minister Søreide reaffirmed the extensive military-to-military cooperation as NATO allies that has resulted in effective combined operations on the battlefield. The secretary thanked the minister for Norway's commitment to internationalsecurity, including its significant contributions to NATO’s Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan, the Defeat-ISIS campaign, and its leadership on security in the Nordic-Baltic region and the North Atlantic. The secretary encouraged the minister to continueefforts to meet the two percent of GDP spending pledge for all NATO members.

The secretary also thanked the minister for the opportunity for a limited U.S. Marine rotational force to conduct cold-weather training in Norway to strengthen readiness and interoperability.